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Animal care facility faces budget shortfall; committee explores contingencies, grants and donations
Summary
The Budget Committee heard that the county's planned animal care facility is over conceptual budget by roughly $1.7 million to $2 million, discussed contingency reductions, grant opportunities and potential use (or legal limits) of opioid settlement funds and private donations to close the gap.
Committee members reviewed the Davis County animal care building project and heard that current conceptual estimates exceed prior budgeted amounts.
Curtis Cove, county controller, summarized recent staff and contractor feedback that a conceptual estimate suggests the project is roughly $1.7 million to $2 million over earlier estimates. Ashley Young of animal care participated in the briefing and staff said the current design includes a 10% estimating contingency; Cove suggested lowering contingency toward 3% (the level used recently for other projects) as one option to reduce the immediate funding need.
Contract staff and the architect told the committee the project remains at a conceptual stage; contractor estimates are not a formal buyout and a formal bid could change the price. Staff said they have already identified program cuts that would reduce cost, such as halving a clinic space, removing certain dog habitat elements and removing the multipurpose room; staff estimated those cuts could reduce cost by about $1 million but still leave the project over budget.
Committee members discussed other funding avenues. Cove said the county has approximately $6 million in opioid settlement funds that staff said are legally restricted in ways that limit the county's ability to spend the money for capital construction as originally expected; he said about $1 million of opioid-related money is currently budgeted in the general fund but cautioned that state legislation changed the allowable uses. "We have $6,000,000 we haven't been able to get," Cove said, and added that the county should consider legal options and whether to pursue state-level clarifications or litigation.
Staff also reported they are pursuing capital grant opportunities and exploring private donations (including creating a dedicated animal-welfare fundraising vehicle) to help close the shortfall; the animal-care team said they have begun outreach for potential philanthropy. Commissioners advised continuing design effort while identifying options to reduce scope and pursue outside funding; one commissioner suggested staging the project or building a shell with future interior fit-out.
Staff said the next steps are continued value-engineering, pursuing grants and donations, and bringing more detailed bid-level estimates back to the committee before any new funding commitments are made.
